Motorsport101

NOTE: We're left-leaning on this podcast, so if you're the sort of sicko that actually likes Donald Trump and willingly turns a blind eye to sportswashing, this episode might not be for you.
But we've been dreading this one to be honest. After seven months of prep and what our beloved Ryan Erik King called "Reverse Sportswashing", IndyCar pulled off the Freedom 250 from Washington D.C, and between us, we break down how we got here, just how much influence The Donald had on the weekend itself, and then of course, the race itself.
Kyle Kirkwood absolutely dominated the weekend, taking the lead from the front row and then leading 128 out of the massive 147 laps. This race took 160 minutes to get through, a slog by IndyCar standards. It was also a startling day for Alex Palou to have his worst weekend in IndyCar. A race ruined by driving over pit equipment, a pitstop error by his crew, losing a lap, and then hitting the inside wall and losing three more enroute to a P20 finish. Championship not quite under wraps just yet. 
And hey, we even had a Scott McLaughlin cameo, before he threw himself into the outside wall. It's something! All that and more on a weird, special, Motorsport101!

Parting is such sweet sorrow. Depending on who you are. For the final time as we know it, the Dutch Grand Prix took place at Zandvoort with over 350,000 in the house over the final three days of running, and with it, McLaren would go back-to-back in 2026 with Lando Norris taking victory. With Norris just 83 points off the Championship lead, is there time for a McLaren Championship comeback, ala Max in 2025?
How we got there though, was messy. An opening lap crash from Max Verstappen due to losing his front on the opening lap due to some early rain. There was the fact the race was colder than expected, and the drivers were struggling to get tyres switched on, as Kimi Antonelli couldn't hold on like Lando Norris could, with Lando using some quirky strategy from Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton, to make a decisive pass for the win. But with Russell told to make way for Antonelli for second, is Mercedes shutting down the title race?
We also talk about the injury stand-ins in Liam Lawson replacing Isack hadjar after the Frenchman broke his hand, and Yuki Tsunoda making a cameo for Racing Bulls. We talk Marcin Budkowski taking over for Graeme Lowdon at Cadillac and say goodbye to Zandvoort after six years of hosting the Dutch Grand Prix. Enjoy!

Just what IndyCar needed in their crazy gauntlet speedrun to the end of the season - An absolutely chaotic Markham debut weekend.
Dre and RJ Review what was a hectic weekend in Canada, a weekend that didn't even start on time due to promoter mistakes and the entriety of Friday being cancelled due to a lack of track barriers and tyres in place. Welp. 
Once we did get going, Marcus Ericsson would win his 5th IndyCar race via some stratgic brilliance in a sea of cautions -  Six of them in a 40-lap spell, including Mick Schumacher, polesitter Louis Foster and street king Kyle Kirkwood all in the wall for making key mistakes. It was a race that was surrounded by dramatics, and ended up in a brilliant stratregic convergence as Ericsson chased down his teammate Will Power, Alex Palou and Romain Grosjean in the closing laps when it mattered most. But was it enough to save a sketchy first running in Markham?
Also, is Yuki Tsunoda from Red Bull heading to IndyCar? We break it all down in a brand new Motorsport101!

Apologies for the lateness, Dre was on holiday, but beforehand, we recorded our IndyCar episode of the Grand Prix of Portland, where giving Alex Palou clean air was a hazardous mistake from all involved. You're all shocked right?
Yes, Palou becomes just the third man in the history of North-American open wheel to have back-to-back six wins seasons, taking advantage of strartegy, traffic, and timing to dominate Portland for his sixth win of the season as Felix Rosenqvist and Will Power could only try to get in his ball park.
We also talk Christian Lundgaard's future as he had to make up for a broken hybrid unit and the continued issues with IndyCar's production value. Enjoy!

The Summer of Marquez just got cancelled. The British Grand Prix marked the first race back from the 2026 Summer Break and with it, Aprilia came back with a thunderous vengence with Double Sweeps of both the Sprint and Grand Prix podium. Jorge Martin dominated the Sprint, and Raul Fernandez ripped out a 4-second lead during the Grand Prix and didn't look back enroute to his second Grand Prix victory. 
Dre and RJ break down why and how Aprilia's come back so strongly after the Summer Break, as well as lay out a post-mortum for Ducati, who struggled to gain any kind of foothold beyond a pair of fourth places for Alex Marquez. 
There's also a deep dive into another poor Silverstone turnout, with just 43,000 on race day and 106,000 across the weekend. Is there a serious promotion problem within MSEG for the British Grand Prix? Is it an accessibility problem, or is the sport still recovering from losing Valentino Rossi? Also, is MSEG pushing for a cost cap and a transfer window, ala football?
All that and more on a new Motorsport101!